Imagine you’re chilling in your room when suddenly a shiny portal appears, and out steps Todd Howard, inviting you to join him on an epic adventure. You step through the portal and find yourself in the world of Fallout, a place like Skyrim but with guns. However, surviving in this world is not as easy as it sounds.
In Fallout, you’re like a vault-dweller stepping out into the dangerous wasteland for the first time. If your vault wasn’t a crazy experiment, the world outside is ready to challenge you. The landscape is filled with dangers, and surviving here is no small feat.
One of the first things you’ll notice is the lack of free healthcare and the angry people everywhere. Your first threat might be giant radroaches, mutated cockroaches that are now the size of cats. These creatures are tough, with strong exoskeletons that make them hard to kill. Real cockroaches can eat almost anything and have a bite force much stronger than their size suggests. Imagine a ten-pound cockroach with a bite force of 500 pounds per square inch!
In Fallout, finding weapons is crucial. The good news is that guns are everywhere, especially if you chose to start in America. However, if you started in Europe, you might find yourself unprepared for the gun culture. Guns can be unreliable, so you’ll need to be careful when using them.
Besides radroaches, you’ll encounter wild dogs and various factions. These factions are often hostile, and trusting them can be risky. The Brotherhood of Steel, for example, might seem like good guys, but they’re not always friendly. Other factions like Caesar’s Legion or the NCR have their own issues, such as oppressive rules or dangerous freedom.
The wasteland is home to many mutated creatures. Ghouls, for example, are irradiated humans who have become aggressive and resistant to damage. They often travel in packs, making them even more dangerous. Mirelurks, mutated sea creatures, are another threat with their heavy armor.
Super mutants are the result of human experiments gone wrong. They’re strong, tough, and often aggressive. Some are intelligent, but many are not. They can heal quickly and are hard to defeat without serious firepower.
At the top of the danger list are the Behemoth and the Deathclaw. The Behemoth is a giant super mutant, and unless you’re heavily armed, it’s best to avoid it. The Deathclaw is even more terrifying, fast, agile, and resistant to bullets. If one spots you, running away might be your best option.
Now that you’ve learned about the dangers of the Fallout world, you might want to explore other survival challenges, like “Why You Wouldn’t Survive World War 3.” Stay curious and keep learning!
Imagine you are a vault-dweller stepping into the Fallout wasteland for the first time. Create a survival guide that includes tips on how to deal with radroaches, find weapons, and interact with factions. Use your creativity to design a guide that is both informative and visually appealing.
In groups, role-play a scenario where you encounter a faction like the Brotherhood of Steel or Caesar’s Legion. Decide how you would negotiate or defend yourself. Discuss the outcomes and what strategies worked best in your group.
Choose one of the mutated creatures mentioned in the article, such as ghouls or mirelurks. Research real-world animals that might have inspired these creatures. Present your findings to the class, highlighting similarities and differences.
Design your own weapon suitable for the Fallout world. Consider the challenges of the wasteland and the types of threats you might face. Draw your weapon and write a short description of its features and how it would help you survive.
Hold a class debate on whether or not you should trust factions in the Fallout world. Divide into teams and argue for or against trusting groups like the NCR or the Brotherhood of Steel. Use examples from the article to support your arguments.
You’re sitting in your room one day when suddenly a silvery portal opens up, and through it steps Todd Howard, beckoning you to join him in a land of fantasy adventure. You follow him through the portal and end up in the world of Fallout, which is like Skyrim but better because it has guns. However, you’re in trouble because you wouldn’t survive a day in the Fallout universe.
In many ways, you’re like a fresh vault-dweller leaving the safe confines of their vault for the horrors of the wasteland. Assuming your vault wasn’t a horrific torture chamber performing some nefarious scientific or sociological experiment, the wide-open world of Fallout beckons to you, and it’s literally just waiting to challenge you.
If the horror of randomly clipping through terrain and falling into an endless void isn’t enough to convince you, there are many other reasons you have little chance of surviving Fallout. Back in the real world, if you chose to spawn in the American server during character creation, then well done, because you have a significantly increased chance of survival due to the wasteland bursting with a high level of gun violence that you’ll be comfortably familiar with. But if you opted for the European server, then you’re in serious trouble.
As you stumble out of your vault, the first thing you’re going to be asking yourself is where is all the free healthcare and why is everyone so angry? Your first danger scurries towards you on an uncomfortable number of legs: giant radroaches, named for the mutating effect that radiation had on them, turning them into massive versions of the common house roach. Unless you’re from a place where large insects are common, you’ll likely be alarmed by a cockroach the size of your leg, and you definitely should be, because these massive insects are formidable.
Real cockroaches can eat almost anything, survive being stomped on thanks to the incredible strength of their exoskeleton, and have a bite force as much as 50 times their own body weight. That means a ten-pound cockroach will be crunching down on you with a bite force of 500 pounds per square inch, while your bite tops out at around 162. But it’s that exoskeleton that’s the real problem, because anything short of a very high-caliber rifle simply won’t do much against the exoskeleton of a ten-pound cockroach.
The cockroaches you’re going up against are much bigger than ten pounds. Estimates place most radroaches at the size of a cat, and with all that exoskeleton, they can end up weighing around 20 pounds. And there’s bigger—the larger variants are the size of a man. Arming yourself is a top priority, and there’s good and bad news on this front. The good news is that Fallout is officially modeled on the daily life inside the average American city, which means there are guns everywhere, they’re cheap, and there are many loopholes to easily acquire them.
If you opted for the American origin in character creation, you probably even have some experience operating them. If, however, you opted for the European origin, then you’re likely confused as to why an American player isn’t directly subsidizing your own defense while you complain endlessly about them. Guns are delicate instruments, and a makeshift pipe gun or even pre-war relic is just as likely to malfunction as it is to actually kill whatever you’re aiming at.
Right now, though, you don’t really have a choice, so it’s time to get prepared. On top of mutated insects with nearly bulletproof carapaces, there’s also a disturbing amount of wild dogs running around. Wild packs of bloodthirsty mongrels are a serious problem. These mutated hounds used to be man’s best friend, but now they just want to be friends with your innards, and since they come in large packs, it’s best to avoid them when possible.
By this point in your journey out of the vault, you’ve probably started to encounter members from several different factions, and pretty much all of them are bad news. Most will try to kill you or each other on sight, turning a stroll through the ruins of yesteryear into an average day out in an American city. Some might even appear helpful, but you’d be a fool to trust them.
Pick your favorite faction. Do you think you could survive by hanging out with them? Think again. How about the Brotherhood of Steel? They seem like the good guys—if you ignore the lore. Turns out these armored titans can’t just turn you into a mess with one power-armored fist, but they’re also wildly xenophobic. If you’ve got any piece of pre-war tech you brought with you, like a smartphone, then bad luck to you, because the Brotherhood wants it—and they don’t necessarily want you along with it.
Maybe you want to roll in New Vegas, a bastion of independence amidst the warring factions. The city is a libertarian dream—in that anyone stronger than you has the complete freedom to do whatever they want to you. Speaking of Caesar’s Legion, if you’ve got a real bad case of wanting to be the main character, then the Legion will give you a quick reality check.
How about the NCR? If you like oppressive bureaucracy and heavy taxation, then this is the place for you. The Institute sounds like it would provide a comfortable life, at least if you have a high degree of moral flexibility and the skills to be useful to them.
The Railroad seems nice, and in truth, they probably are. A meritocracy fighting for the freedom of synths is probably about as good a moral choice as you’re going to get with wasteland allies. But you’re going to spend your entire life on the run and hiding in random basements while eating canned food—doesn’t sound too bad considering your alternatives.
But the Institute will eventually overwhelm the Railroad, making them a poor choice of a faction to join. Best you go solo, which means you’re going to face the other horrors of the wasteland alone. And on top of the various gangs of raiders, you’ve got very real, terrifying human monsters to contend with.
These irradiated humans had their brains affected by radiation, becoming antisocial and hyper-aggressive. Some of the more ancient ghouls come from the pre-war population that survived the nuclear fallout. Large segments of the surviving population became trapped in highly irradiated cities, with the radiation mutating their physiology to become extremely resistant to radiation.
Ghoul bodies are powered by the magic of imagination, which means firearms and even improvised weapons are only so effective against them. Shooting a real human straight in the brain or the heart is a good way of asking them to reconsider their current course of action, but a ghoul can survive even this catastrophic damage.
And just like feral dogs, ghouls almost always come in packs. If you’re not a fan of land-based wildlife, you might prefer ocean creatures. The radiation of the Fallout wasteland has mutated all kinds of crustaceans. Mirelurks are the most common type of irradiated seafood to prowl the wasteland, and these heavily armored creatures are a deadly threat to any wastelander.
Moving up the food chain, you’ve got the super mutants. These genetic beings are the result of human experimentation with a forced evolutionary virus. Some super mutants are close to the ideal of future humanity—stronger, tougher, and immune to most sickness—but most have reduced intelligence and are hyper-aggressive.
These angry, irrational creatures are more likely to attack than engage in a civilized conversation. They can run faster than you, are much stronger, and can recover from deadly wounds through regeneration. Unless you’re packing serious firepower or have a lot of friends, your first encounter with a super mutant is likely going to be your last.
There are many other irradiated horrors, but sitting at the top of the danger chart are two of the most deadly monsters in all the wasteland: the Behemoth and the Deathclaw. The Behemoth is a super mutant the size of a house. Unless you’ve got serious firepower, your best bet is to lay low.
Second only to the Behemoth is the Deathclaw. Refined by the forced evolutionary virus and exposure to radiation, the Deathclaw has become the king of the food chain. Deathclaws are incredibly fast, agile, and resistant to firearms. If one sets its sights on you, your best option is to escape.
Now go check out “Why You Wouldn’t Survive World War 3,” or click this other video instead!
Wasteland – A barren or desolate area, often used in games to describe a post-apocalyptic setting. – In the game, players must navigate through a wasteland filled with dangers and hidden treasures.
Challenges – Tasks or obstacles that require effort and skill to overcome, often used in games to test players. – The game presents various challenges that players must complete to advance to the next level.
Factions – Groups or communities with distinct beliefs or goals, often competing against each other in games. – Players can choose to join different factions, each offering unique abilities and storylines.
Mutated – Changed or altered in form, often used in games to describe creatures affected by radiation or magic. – The forest is home to mutated animals that pose a threat to any adventurer.
Creatures – Living beings, often fantastical or monstrous, that players encounter in games. – The dungeon is filled with creatures that guard the treasure hidden within.
Survival – The act of staying alive, often a key theme in games set in harsh environments. – In the survival game, players must gather resources and build shelters to protect themselves.
Healthcare – The maintenance or improvement of health, often represented in games as healing items or abilities. – Players must manage their healthcare by using potions and first aid kits to stay alive.
Wildlife – Animals and plants that live in natural environments, often featured in games as part of the ecosystem. – The game’s realistic wildlife adds to the immersive experience as players explore the jungle.
Guns – Firearms used as weapons, commonly found in action and adventure games. – Players can collect different types of guns to defend themselves against enemies.
Adventure – An exciting or unusual experience, often the central theme of games that involve exploration and quests. – The adventure game takes players on a journey through mysterious lands filled with puzzles and secrets.
